Olifants River – Above Strijdom Tunnel

About

A 45 km wilderness trip through a deep, steep-sided gorge with striking scenery and very little human contact. From Penge to Manoutsa below the Strijdom tunnel, most paddlers take two days; those with time can spread it over three to explore the many dry kloofs feeding the Olifants. Day one is mild, with long flat pools and mostly small rapids, except for one long narrow rapid cutting through stone; several beaches make good camps. Day two delivers the whitewater — the final 12 km from Mabinz to Manoutsa contains plenty of challenging rapids with reasonable pools between them, a few touching class 4. Mabinz also serves as an alternative put-in for an exciting one-day trip to the same take-out. Watch for a lone hippo in the pool above the weir at the take-out. Loskop Dam lies far upstream and flow is largely independent of dam release. Blyde operates commercially on this stretch.

Access

Permits

None

Commercial operators

• Blyde

Recent sessions